With the passing of Ted Kennedy, I recall hearing this story about him that says a lot about the guy.
In the 70's, convicted Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy was doing hard time in a Federal Prison. While in jail, Liddy's daughter was graduating from a conservative Catholic high school. Talk about difficult: You are a teenage daughter, graduating from a high-end, conservative high school, and your father is a convicted felon. Not a good mix. At the same time Senator Kennedy had a daughter graduating from the same school. After graduation, Senator Kennedy made a point to come over to Liddy's daughter and congratulate her. Apparently it made all the difference in the world to Liddy and his daughter.
Rest in Peace Teddy.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Life In The (Slow) Lane
I'm in Hartford this week training, so here's a typical day:
5:45-6:00am
Wake up & get out of bed. I got about six hours of sleep, give or take.
6:00-6:45am
Shower and get dressed.
6:45 - 7:00am
Pack laptop & briefcase, go down the hotel lobby.
7:00 - 7:15am
Walk across the street to the office & sign in as a visitor*.
7:15 - 8:00am
Head upstairs, into the PC Lab, unpack my stuff, connect my laptop, log-in and begin to read emails from the weekend and yesterday.
8:00 - 8:15am
Go over to the cafeteria, get something to eat and head back to the PC Lab. Eat while talking to my Director.
8:15 - 8:55am
Log into the training PCs, test access and put materials out.
8:55 - 9:05am
Greet attendees as they enter the room & make updates to material on the white board.
9:05 - 12:05pm
Morning half of my class. All seems to go well...attendees are engaged, ask lots of good questions & seem to be getting it. We agree to break for a 30 minute lunch.
12:05 - 12:20pm
I review some material for the morning session & check emails.
12:20 - 12:30pm
Go over to the cafeteria to get some lunch (ham sandwich on wheat).
12:30 - 12:35pm
Eat sandwich while talking to one of the attendees who stayed in the room.
12:35 - 12:45pm
All attendees return from lunch and the session begins again.
12:45 - 2:30pm
Afternoon portion of the class. A key business partner sits in for part of the class.
2:30 - 2:50pm
Finish class work and attendees leave as they get their production system access.
2:50 - 5:00pm
Clean up after class, catch up on emails, send out class evaluations, print roster for tomorrow's session.
5:00 - 5:15pm
Pack up and head back over to the hotel.
5:15 - 6:00pm
Check email, read the headlines and decide what to do for dinner.
6:00 - 6:20pm
Head over to the downtown CVS to get toothpaste (spend too much time in line).
6:20 - 7:15pm
Find restaurant in town, go in and am seated. I ended up having steak for dinner.
7:15 - 7:30pm
Pay bill (about $60 with tip) and walk back to the hotel.
7:30 - 7:45pm
Get changed into almost nothing, set up the computer and begin writing silly blog entry.
Glamorous, glamorous stuff!!
(*) I hate that I have to sign-in as a visitor, after all I am working at the office & I've been a Prudential employee 5 times longer than this location as been a Prudential office.
5:45-6:00am
Wake up & get out of bed. I got about six hours of sleep, give or take.
6:00-6:45am
Shower and get dressed.
6:45 - 7:00am
Pack laptop & briefcase, go down the hotel lobby.
7:00 - 7:15am
Walk across the street to the office & sign in as a visitor*.
7:15 - 8:00am
Head upstairs, into the PC Lab, unpack my stuff, connect my laptop, log-in and begin to read emails from the weekend and yesterday.
8:00 - 8:15am
Go over to the cafeteria, get something to eat and head back to the PC Lab. Eat while talking to my Director.
8:15 - 8:55am
Log into the training PCs, test access and put materials out.
8:55 - 9:05am
Greet attendees as they enter the room & make updates to material on the white board.
9:05 - 12:05pm
Morning half of my class. All seems to go well...attendees are engaged, ask lots of good questions & seem to be getting it. We agree to break for a 30 minute lunch.
12:05 - 12:20pm
I review some material for the morning session & check emails.
12:20 - 12:30pm
Go over to the cafeteria to get some lunch (ham sandwich on wheat).
12:30 - 12:35pm
Eat sandwich while talking to one of the attendees who stayed in the room.
12:35 - 12:45pm
All attendees return from lunch and the session begins again.
12:45 - 2:30pm
Afternoon portion of the class. A key business partner sits in for part of the class.
2:30 - 2:50pm
Finish class work and attendees leave as they get their production system access.
2:50 - 5:00pm
Clean up after class, catch up on emails, send out class evaluations, print roster for tomorrow's session.
5:00 - 5:15pm
Pack up and head back over to the hotel.
5:15 - 6:00pm
Check email, read the headlines and decide what to do for dinner.
6:00 - 6:20pm
Head over to the downtown CVS to get toothpaste (spend too much time in line).
6:20 - 7:15pm
Find restaurant in town, go in and am seated. I ended up having steak for dinner.
7:15 - 7:30pm
Pay bill (about $60 with tip) and walk back to the hotel.
7:30 - 7:45pm
Get changed into almost nothing, set up the computer and begin writing silly blog entry.
Glamorous, glamorous stuff!!
(*) I hate that I have to sign-in as a visitor, after all I am working at the office & I've been a Prudential employee 5 times longer than this location as been a Prudential office.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Politics of Steve
My political thoughts and leanings...
Government's Role...In General - I want the government to more or less stay the hell out of my life. In fact, I think it needs to really just do three things:
Abortion...This is a personal decision between a woman, her partner, and their God. The government needs to stay the hell out of it. I find strict abortion controls to be ultimate example of an over-intrusive government. For the record, I am not in favor of abortion on demand in most instances, but that's my personal belief, and I don't feel that my personal belief (or that of any politician) should be a matter of public policy.
The Death Penalty...Another example of a government that becomes overly intrusive. Seriously, do we want a government to be able to put people to death? Murders should be put in work camps...in Alaska...raising reindeer herds (or something equally horrible).
Healthcare...Healthcare is not a right, but I do think it is an obligation on the part of both government and individuals. Government needs to make sure that people are not getting screwed by folks who want to make enormous profits via sick people. I'm sorry, but an insurance company earning a 15% ROE while denying coverage to people who need it is just simply wrong. Conversely, individuals have to have "skin" in the healthcare game. That means, in part, that everyone has to pay something for healthcare coverage, period. I don't care if you earn $5,000 a year...part of that $5K needs to go towards paying for medical insurance. It's time for the free-rides to end. NO MORE FREEBIES.
Immigration...The federal government has a legal and moral obligation to protect our borders, period. Immigration made this country great, and I have no sympathy for the modern version of the "No-Nothings"...but...we are a nation where we expect people to play by the rules. Part of those rules include the notion that there is a process for becoming a citizen, and a failure to vigorously enforce immigration laws is a slap in the face of everyone who followed the rules to legally immigrate to this country.
"English Only"...Let's be honest here: there are more than a few folks in the "English Only" crowd who simply don't like people who are different than them. That may be offensive to some, but I think that we all know it's true. That noted, it's time for the government to say that official business in this country should be conducted in English. I have no problem with anyone speaking any language that they want, but as Americans, we all need to have a common ground for communication.
Censorship...It's time for the government to get out of the "deciding what is in good taste" business. This is yet another example of big government gone too far. Now does this mean I want S&M videos playing on CBS at 8pm? No, but conversely, it's rather stupid that a TV show can depict someone getting killed at 8pm but God forbid they a have a character utter the word "shit". Let's set very, very broad and consistent guidelines and leave it at that. All too often censorship is more about the personal standards of politicians and their interest groups than it is about anything else. For me, while I think Rush Limbaugh is a drug-addicted, hypocritical idiot (knocking Al Gore for his service in Vietnam...as ole Rushbo dodged the draft via a boil on his ass), I'll defend his right to speak to his mindless automatons .
Taxation...It's time for the government to "de-complicate" the tax code. Let's move to a flat (or flatter...say two rate tax system) or consumption based taxation. I earn more than some, so I don't have a problem paying my fair share. I do, however, have a problem with someone who earns more than me getting enormous refunds because they can claim all manner of tax loopholes.
Spending...Governments need to live withing their means, period. NO MORE unbalanced budgets, ever. If the government wants to do something to make the healthcare system in this country more effective, then I'm all for it...as long as they pay for it. The bottom line is that the laws of responsibility...as in not spending more than you have...should apply equally to governments as well as people.
Religion and Politics...Nothing pisses me off more than people who try to make the point that the separation of church and state exists only to protect religions from government, but not governments from religion. In point of act, that street runs both ways. This country was founded by people who wanted religious freedom, so the notion by some that the United States is a "Christian" nation shows nothing but contempt for those came here in the first place. It doesn't matter that the people who wrote the Constitution were "Christians"...what matters is that they had the foresight to demand that personal religious views were not meant to be tied to the hip of public policy. Yes, there is a role for religion in this country, as it forms the moral fabric of individuals; however that moral fabric should provide guidance, not hard and fast direction, to those making public policy.
Government's Role...In General - I want the government to more or less stay the hell out of my life. In fact, I think it needs to really just do three things:
- Protect me from foreign invaders.
- Protect me from you (for example, prevent you from opening up a pig farm outside my bedroom window).
- Protect me from organizations what want to screw with me (such as monopolies) where otherwise I would have no recourse or ability to effectively fight back.
Abortion...This is a personal decision between a woman, her partner, and their God. The government needs to stay the hell out of it. I find strict abortion controls to be ultimate example of an over-intrusive government. For the record, I am not in favor of abortion on demand in most instances, but that's my personal belief, and I don't feel that my personal belief (or that of any politician) should be a matter of public policy.
The Death Penalty...Another example of a government that becomes overly intrusive. Seriously, do we want a government to be able to put people to death? Murders should be put in work camps...in Alaska...raising reindeer herds (or something equally horrible).
Healthcare...Healthcare is not a right, but I do think it is an obligation on the part of both government and individuals. Government needs to make sure that people are not getting screwed by folks who want to make enormous profits via sick people. I'm sorry, but an insurance company earning a 15% ROE while denying coverage to people who need it is just simply wrong. Conversely, individuals have to have "skin" in the healthcare game. That means, in part, that everyone has to pay something for healthcare coverage, period. I don't care if you earn $5,000 a year...part of that $5K needs to go towards paying for medical insurance. It's time for the free-rides to end. NO MORE FREEBIES.
Immigration...The federal government has a legal and moral obligation to protect our borders, period. Immigration made this country great, and I have no sympathy for the modern version of the "No-Nothings"...but...we are a nation where we expect people to play by the rules. Part of those rules include the notion that there is a process for becoming a citizen, and a failure to vigorously enforce immigration laws is a slap in the face of everyone who followed the rules to legally immigrate to this country.
"English Only"...Let's be honest here: there are more than a few folks in the "English Only" crowd who simply don't like people who are different than them. That may be offensive to some, but I think that we all know it's true. That noted, it's time for the government to say that official business in this country should be conducted in English. I have no problem with anyone speaking any language that they want, but as Americans, we all need to have a common ground for communication.
Censorship...It's time for the government to get out of the "deciding what is in good taste" business. This is yet another example of big government gone too far. Now does this mean I want S&M videos playing on CBS at 8pm? No, but conversely, it's rather stupid that a TV show can depict someone getting killed at 8pm but God forbid they a have a character utter the word "shit". Let's set very, very broad and consistent guidelines and leave it at that. All too often censorship is more about the personal standards of politicians and their interest groups than it is about anything else. For me, while I think Rush Limbaugh is a drug-addicted, hypocritical idiot (knocking Al Gore for his service in Vietnam...as ole Rushbo dodged the draft via a boil on his ass), I'll defend his right to speak to his mindless automatons .
Taxation...It's time for the government to "de-complicate" the tax code. Let's move to a flat (or flatter...say two rate tax system) or consumption based taxation. I earn more than some, so I don't have a problem paying my fair share. I do, however, have a problem with someone who earns more than me getting enormous refunds because they can claim all manner of tax loopholes.
Spending...Governments need to live withing their means, period. NO MORE unbalanced budgets, ever. If the government wants to do something to make the healthcare system in this country more effective, then I'm all for it...as long as they pay for it. The bottom line is that the laws of responsibility...as in not spending more than you have...should apply equally to governments as well as people.
Religion and Politics...Nothing pisses me off more than people who try to make the point that the separation of church and state exists only to protect religions from government, but not governments from religion. In point of act, that street runs both ways. This country was founded by people who wanted religious freedom, so the notion by some that the United States is a "Christian" nation shows nothing but contempt for those came here in the first place. It doesn't matter that the people who wrote the Constitution were "Christians"...what matters is that they had the foresight to demand that personal religious views were not meant to be tied to the hip of public policy. Yes, there is a role for religion in this country, as it forms the moral fabric of individuals; however that moral fabric should provide guidance, not hard and fast direction, to those making public policy.
2009 Mitsubishi Galant
Week before last I rented a 2010 Kia (I forget the model name, other than it was Kia's -sized sedan) and was pretty happy with it. I was especially thrilled with the audio system, which in addition to having fairly logical controls, had satellite radio, an aux in jack and a USB port.Fast forward to this past Thursday and I had as my rental a 2009 Mitsubishi Galant. Now in theory the Galant would be a more up-scale car than the Kia, and relative to price I am sure it was. However if I had to buy one of the two, it would be the Kia, by far and away. Why?
Well in the Galant's favor, it has a typically smooth engine with terrific acceleration. I suspect the engine was a V6 (I didn't take the time to look), and it has power to spare. That's nice, but when I am rambling over three hours of I84, 65-70mph feels the same in just about any car. The Galant also looked (on the outside) great. So far so good, right? Well the Galant had one major, fatal flaw: I hated the audio system, for a few reasons:
- Overly stylistic controls - See the picture, above; yes, the audio system control may look nice, but there is nothing you can tell via feel which button does what.
- No aux in jack - I could not plug in my satellite radio system (this car, surprisingly, didn't have one built-in), nor could I plug in an mp3 player.
- No USB jack - This was a great addition to the Kia. I have about 4mb of audio files, and being able to plug them directly into the car audio system (on the Kia) was just a great benefit.
- Display - Not shown above, but the audio display actually was on top of the dash, and consisted of the station frequency, time and (when used) CD track number. No text with station name or information, just the most rudimentary of displays in LCD.
- Hum-Drum sounds - Last but not least, the actual audio of the system was was good, but not spectacular. In point of fact it was probably a little better than the Kia's, but all of the other flaws made me discount this slight advantage.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Road Apples, #39
The Week that Was....was long. I'm now moving into a grove where I'll be working Tuesday-Friday in Hartford for a few weeks. It's not great, but when you consider that I'm paid to do this kind of thing it's not horrible either. On the plus side, I get to eat out every night. On the minus side, I really worry about what is happening back home. Life isn't perfect, that's for damn sure.
Driving Home Yesterday...I got caught in a horrible storm, with real visibility being no better than a few feet at times. How bad was it? Well on I84 I was going about 15 miles per hour at one point. On the plus side, at least it wasn't snow.
2009 Mitsubishi Galant...This was my rental for Thursday/Friday. I'll post something on it later today or tomorrow, but while the car had a great engine and handled very well, I absolutely hated the controls.
Today...I really want to keep it open to basically do whatever the hell I want. I'm thinking about replacing the rest of the mini-blinds downstairs, so maybe I'll go looking for something that strikes my fancy. I kind of dig the natural material (i.e. reed, bamboo, etc.) roll shades, so maybe a trip up to the Christmas Tree Shoppe is in order.
This Wednesday...Kate returns to school, but I will be unable to go down with her then, due to my needing to be in Hartford. Instead I'll go down on Saturday morning. I'm not thrilled about missing this, but there isn't a lot I can do about it. For a variety of reasons (some good, some basically really stupid) I am the only person who can conduct the training that is required in Hartford, so there was no way for me to make it down to Kutztown before Saturday.
Parts Phone...I received the rather beaten-up Blackjack II I bought on-line last weekend. Now all I have to do is figure out how to replace the center button. Maybe that will be part of my thrilling Saturday night.
Driving Home Yesterday...I got caught in a horrible storm, with real visibility being no better than a few feet at times. How bad was it? Well on I84 I was going about 15 miles per hour at one point. On the plus side, at least it wasn't snow.
2009 Mitsubishi Galant...This was my rental for Thursday/Friday. I'll post something on it later today or tomorrow, but while the car had a great engine and handled very well, I absolutely hated the controls.
Today...I really want to keep it open to basically do whatever the hell I want. I'm thinking about replacing the rest of the mini-blinds downstairs, so maybe I'll go looking for something that strikes my fancy. I kind of dig the natural material (i.e. reed, bamboo, etc.) roll shades, so maybe a trip up to the Christmas Tree Shoppe is in order.
This Wednesday...Kate returns to school, but I will be unable to go down with her then, due to my needing to be in Hartford. Instead I'll go down on Saturday morning. I'm not thrilled about missing this, but there isn't a lot I can do about it. For a variety of reasons (some good, some basically really stupid) I am the only person who can conduct the training that is required in Hartford, so there was no way for me to make it down to Kutztown before Saturday.
Parts Phone...I received the rather beaten-up Blackjack II I bought on-line last weekend. Now all I have to do is figure out how to replace the center button. Maybe that will be part of my thrilling Saturday night.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Ah, The Night Before
One of the advantages (well make that the only advantage) of the long drives to Hartford for me is that I actually have to sit, as a captive audience, and actually listen to stuff. Seven hours in the car will do that to you. Anyway, driving back from Connecticut today I played a copy of The Beatles Help CD. Amazing stuff. Considering that this music is almost 45 years old, it holds up remarkably well. Anyway, one of the my favorite tracks on Help is "The Night Before"; it's a McCartney song* that just has this great vibe to it. Also, like a lot of the songs on Help, I also really dig the background vocals.
(*) Contrary to the famous 'Lennon/McCartney' songwriting credit, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote very few of their songs together; stylistically it's pretty easy for a Beatles fan to tell the work of either Beatle apart, but a good rule of thumb is that the lead singer is the generally the composer.
(*) Contrary to the famous 'Lennon/McCartney' songwriting credit, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote very few of their songs together; stylistically it's pretty easy for a Beatles fan to tell the work of either Beatle apart, but a good rule of thumb is that the lead singer is the generally the composer.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Bread: Make It With You
There aren't many David Gates/Bread video clips out there, so I was glad I found this. I had the pleasure of seeing David perform this live a few years back, and he sounded spot on, nearly 40 years later. In case you are curious, the lead guitar part is played by sessions musician Dean Parks.
So here's to sappy 70' s love songs, written by people that could read music and performed by people that actually played instruments.
BREAD "Make It With You" (live)
So here's to sappy 70' s love songs, written by people that could read music and performed by people that actually played instruments.
BREAD "Make It With You" (live)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Male or Female? You Decide
Story link here.
There is question as to the gender of this South African runner. Based just on the picture, I'd say that the questions are worth asking.
(How I) Wish You Were Here
Have you ever had a song in your head that, while you are really not all that fond of it, you still can't get it out of your head? And so it is for me with the Pink Floyd song "Wish You Were Here". Now as a caveat to my first sentence, I don't like the song, but I do like the lyrics. From what I gather the song is about Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd; not long after the group began to become successful, years of hallucinogenic drug use caught up with Syd and he slowly slid into an almost permanent madness.
Anyway, I think the lyrics of this song are very touching. Maybe I view these lyrics through the lens of someone who has people close to him suffering from mental health issues. When you deal with someone close to you who suffers with this kind of illness it's nearly impossible to not want to reference a time in the past when they were "normal". Of course also in retrospect (well at least as far as I am concerned) they probably never really were here, as now I look back and see so many signs in the past that pointed to the problems of today. The cheap-n-easy thing to do is to blame yourself and think "I should have done this differently back then", but that relies all too much on the simplistic human view of time as this linear chain of events; in point of fact even doing something differently in the past never guarantees you that a future outcome will be different, let along better. Put another way, I am thinking that the human mind is simply far too complex for a cause-and-effect analysis.
Some things in life are best not over-thought, which I admit is difficult for me on many levels. So here's to simple songs expressing simple thoughts.
Wishing you were here.
Wish You Were Here (by Pink Floyd)
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skys from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
Anyway, I think the lyrics of this song are very touching. Maybe I view these lyrics through the lens of someone who has people close to him suffering from mental health issues. When you deal with someone close to you who suffers with this kind of illness it's nearly impossible to not want to reference a time in the past when they were "normal". Of course also in retrospect (well at least as far as I am concerned) they probably never really were here, as now I look back and see so many signs in the past that pointed to the problems of today. The cheap-n-easy thing to do is to blame yourself and think "I should have done this differently back then", but that relies all too much on the simplistic human view of time as this linear chain of events; in point of fact even doing something differently in the past never guarantees you that a future outcome will be different, let along better. Put another way, I am thinking that the human mind is simply far too complex for a cause-and-effect analysis.
Some things in life are best not over-thought, which I admit is difficult for me on many levels. So here's to simple songs expressing simple thoughts.
Wishing you were here.
Wish You Were Here (by Pink Floyd)
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skys from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
Monday, August 17, 2009
There Are Time When The Catholic Church Gets It Wrong...
...and this is one of them.
Article link here.
So there are about 60,000 Sisters who need to be investigated for possibly straying from Church dogma. Why does the phrase "Inquisition" come to mind?
Let me just say this about my experiences growing up with women religious: there has never been a group I had experience with who gave so much of themselves for seemingly so little. These are people who truly live their faith, every moment of every day. Growing up, when my parish priest was playing golf on Wednesdays, the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary were busy teaching.
Let's hope that the Church, in it's infinite wisdom, decides to celebrate the lives of the Good Sisters, not spend needless time and resources conducting shadowy examinations searching for dogmatic impurities.
Article link here.
So there are about 60,000 Sisters who need to be investigated for possibly straying from Church dogma. Why does the phrase "Inquisition" come to mind?
Let me just say this about my experiences growing up with women religious: there has never been a group I had experience with who gave so much of themselves for seemingly so little. These are people who truly live their faith, every moment of every day. Growing up, when my parish priest was playing golf on Wednesdays, the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary were busy teaching.
Let's hope that the Church, in it's infinite wisdom, decides to celebrate the lives of the Good Sisters, not spend needless time and resources conducting shadowy examinations searching for dogmatic impurities.
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